A Principal's Reflections
FEBRUARY 20, 2011
'I don''t know about all of you, but I am really getting tired about the relentless attacks on teachers as states grapple with their budgets. Are they kidding me? Really, educators and other state workers are to blame for out of control costs and spending? As long as I can remember anyone that went into the field of education was ridiculed for the main reason that the profession makes no money.
The Web20Classroom
JUNE 15, 2011
'The end of the school year is upon us however many are looking forward to next year. You may be thinking what can you do differently next year? How can you stand out above the crowd? How can your school become a larger part of the school community? While Twitter is beginning to catch on with many educators, schools are lagging in their adoption of the platform.
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Educational Technology Guy
APRIL 5, 2011
I recently saw Ben Franklin’s daily schedule and planner on Larry Ferlazzo’s website (which is an awesome resource for educators). I was a long time user of Franklin Quest (now Franklin Covey) paper planners and used their planning software and methods on my first PDA and had heard that they had gotten some of their ideas for planning from Ben Franklin, but had never seen Ben’s planner.
The 21st Century Principal
OCTOBER 2, 2011
'Ian Jukes, Ted McCain, and Lee Crockett write in their book Understanding the Digital Generation , "Schools have not recognized the changes that have occurred in the world around them and have continued to teach as if it were 1980." In the spirit of David Letterman, here''s my "Top 10 Signs Your Schools Caught in a Time Warp." A list for school administrators. 1.
Generative AI holds tremendous promise for all stakeholders in higher education. But guardrails are needed. Strong governance that empower instructors are at the core of a responsible approach to using generative AI in academia.
EdTechSandyK
MAY 14, 2011
'Official Photo of Texas Governor Rick Perry from governor.state.tx.us/about/ Yesterday, I listened to a radio interview Texas Governor Rick Perry did with KRLD 1080 AM radio in Dallas via Scott Braddock''s website. Today, I am writing to say he is wrong about the extent of educator layoffs in Texas and that he is also wrong about the staffing ratio of teachers to administrators in the school districts in our state.
The Mobile Native
DECEMBER 2, 2011
'QR codes, also known as Quick Response codes, are starting to pop up everywhere, and now they are finding their way into classrooms. Here are some QR code resources and links.
EdTech Update brings together the best content for education technology professionals from the widest variety of industry thought leaders.
A Principal's Reflections
APRIL 19, 2011
'The other day one of my veteran teachers came to my office to tell me that she had decided to retire. This was a bittersweet moment for me as I highly valued her commitment to the students of New Milford High School and knew I would have a huge void to fill, but was happy to see that she was at peace with her decision. During our conversation she told me how much she appreciated that fact that I never once micromanaged her, which promoted creativity in the classroom.
A Principal's Reflections
MARCH 13, 2011
'I came across a great video this morning that really does a nice job illustrating how teaching should be evolving to meet the needs of 21st Century Learners. Watching the video reinforced for me the direction that we are taking New Milford High School. The question now becomes are the pedagogical shifts described above taking hold in classrooms? If not, which I assume is the overwhelming answer, what has to be done?
A Principal's Reflections
NOVEMBER 27, 2011
'There has been a great deal of information lately on the World Wide Web and in the media on the flipped classroom approach. I still get the sense that many educators are unsure of what this actually means and entails. I myself have done quite a bit of research as of late to gain a better understanding. Image credit: [link] There are two main components associated with the flipped classroom approach to teaching and learning.
A Principal's Reflections
APRIL 23, 2011
'As a result of being off the entire week for spring break I have had the opportunity to explore the many extensions available for Google Chrome. These free extensions not only optimize my Internet experience, but also provide a great deal of enhanced functionality to my work as an educator (especially as a blogger). I have begun to compile a short list of extensions that I am currently using.
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A Principal's Reflections
AUGUST 31, 2011
'This morning I read a great article on PBS Media Shift by Audrey Watters entitled " Why Schools Should Stop Banning Cell Phones, and Use Them For Learning." Up until this past year the rule of thumb was that students could bring their phones to my school, but they could not be on, seen, or heard. This rule applied throughout the school day, on or at any school-sponsored functions, and was strictly enforced.
A Principal's Reflections
JULY 14, 2011
'Cross-posted at the Huffington Post: Effective Leadership in the Age of Reform. School improvement efforts rely heavily on quality leadership. Educational leaders are tasked with establishing a collective vision for school improvement and initiating change to spur innovation, ensure student learning, and increase achievement. On July 13 th I had the pleasure of hearing Dr.
A Principal's Reflections
MAY 11, 2011
'I came across this video that compares and contrasts pedagogical techniques, learning environments, student/teacher characteristics, and expectations associated with education during the past two centuries. What are your thoughts on the various points made in this video? How can we better meet the needs of learners and educators in the 21st Century?
A Principal's Reflections
DECEMBER 21, 2011
'Cross-posted at the NJ Principals and Supervisors Association. When principals hear the words Twitter and Facebook they cringe. Immediately, visions of excessive socialization, time wasted, and meaningless conversations in the form of updates come to mind. This is true, in many cases, when these tools are used for personal use. I am here to share ways in which principals can harness the power of these free resources to improve communications, public relations, professional growth, instruction,
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A Principal's Reflections
NOVEMBER 3, 2011
'I have been fortunate over the past few days to have attended the Authorspeak Conference. This experience has allowed me to listen to and connect with some of the best minds in education (i.e. Robert Marzano, Rick DuFour, Carol Tomlinson, Doug Reeves, Will Richardson). Additionally, I have been able to network with other amazing educators from all over the world and actively share how we are transforming the culture at New Milford High School.
A Principal's Reflections
OCTOBER 20, 2011
'At New Milford High School we have begun to leverage technology that many students possess. This has led to a Bring Your Own Technology (BYOT) initiative, where students are encouraged to bring in their mobile learning devices, which include cell phones or personal computing devices (laptops, tablets, iPod Touches, eReaders, etc). Students that bring their own computing devices have the ability to connect to our secure wireless network.
A Principal's Reflections
SEPTEMBER 10, 2011
'"Education is not the filling of a pail, but the lighting of a fire" - William Butler Yeats I am across this video recently and wish I had it for my opening day with teachers. It is definitely a discussion starter in regards to what should be occurring in the classroom, our respective roles in the profession, and how we should be working with our students to unleash their potential.
A Principal's Reflections
DECEMBER 13, 2011
'Ask yourself why you or someone you know chose a profession in education for a living. Is it because of the paycheck? Do you like the hours? Do the working conditions suit you? Is it because you couldn’t decide on a major until halfway through your Bachelor’s Degree and figured that teaching would be your best option? If you answered yes to any of these questions then you are definitely in the wrong line of work.
Speaker: Andrew Cohen, Founder & CEO of Brainscape
The instructor’s PPT slides are brilliant. You’ve splurged on the expensive interactive courseware. Student engagement is stellar. So… why are half of your students still forgetting everything they learned in just a matter of weeks? It's likely a matter of cognitive science! With so much material to "teach" these days, we often forget to incorporate key proven principles into our curricula — namely active recall, metacognition, spaced repetition, and interleaving practice.
A Principal's Reflections
JULY 20, 2011
'Life-long learning is an essential characteristic found amongst effective educators and something that should be modeled for our students. With so many changes occurring in the field of educational technology, curriculum, pedagogy, and law, it is imperative that educators receive opportunities for growth in their school. Additionally, they should be provided with the knowledge and foundation to develop a Personal Learning Network.
A Principal's Reflections
MAY 25, 2011
'Cross-posted at the Huffington Post. Last week my school was fortunate to have the NJ School Boards Association (NJSBA) visit to produce a live event called Learn@Lunch: Technology as an Engagement Tool. You can view the archive of the event here. A little over two years ago something like this would have never happened at New Milford High School. Yes, I was the Principal at that time, but my perspective and philosophy as to what constituted a 21st Century learning environment was vastly differ
A Principal's Reflections
JULY 27, 2011
'Over the past two years I have seen some dramatic shifts in an effort to transform New Milford High School into a 21st Century institution of teaching and learning. With a change in mindset and a great deal of support, I have been able to successfully empower my staff to integrate a variety of digital tools, including social media, to engage learners.
A Principal's Reflections
JUNE 9, 2011
'A few months back Verizon Wireless visited New Milford High School and we had a fantastic meeting. The end result was the formation of a pilot program where students and a teacher would be given a tablet device and then be tasked with developing a plan to extend learning beyond the school day. About a week later the devices arrived at my office. Each of the ten tablets (5 iPads and 5 Samsung Galaxy tabs) came with 3G access for the duration of the pilot program.
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A Principal's Reflections
JULY 5, 2011
'Cross-posted at the Huffington Post: What is Wrong With This Picture? All across the country, education is under attack on numerous fronts. No matter where you look, educators are to blame for the economic woes in many states. This is extremely puzzling to me, as it is well known that this downturn in our economy was a result of misguided, unregulated, or greedy practices of the private sector.
A Principal's Reflections
APRIL 13, 2011
'A slightly altered version of this post entitled "Learning Like Never Before" is cross-posted at the Huffington Post. Let me start off by saying that I work at an incredible school. When I came to New Milford High School in 2004 there were many amazing programs in place. One was the Holocaust Study Tour. This global learning endeavor provides some of our students the opportunity to travel to Europe for at least 10 days and study the Holocaust in depth.
A Principal's Reflections
DECEMBER 3, 2011
'The use of case studies is a powerful pedagogical approach to incorporate student-centered learning activities into lessons. As a science teacher I routinely utilized case studies as they provided a relevant context to what I was teaching. Claire Davis and Elizabeth Wilcock conducted an excellent literature review and created a phenomenal resource called Teaching Materials Using Case Studies.
A Principal's Reflections
SEPTEMBER 19, 2011
'"In order to succeed, your desire for success should be greater than your fear of failure" - Bill Cosby As I welcomed my staff back two weeks ago I wanted to craft and deliver a meaningful message that would hopefully resonate with them throughout the school year. So I stepped out of my comfort zone (as a science teacher I tend to be very concrete sequential and analytical) and developed an acronym focused on the word "desire".
Speaker: Chris Paxton McMillin, President of D3 Training Solutions
There are plenty of great authoring tools for developing eLearning, but the one you select could directly impact your course's outcomes. Depending upon your learners’ needs and your organization’s performance goals, you could be overlooking considerations that impact the both effectiveness of your courses and how long it takes to finish them. From general capabilities to specific workflow structures, some aspects are critical when it comes to learning objectives and deadlines.
The Web20Classroom
MARCH 15, 2011
'One question that comes into my inbox or on Twitter a lot lately is one dealing with iPads. Many schools and classrooms all over are investing in these devices and educators want to know how to use them effectively, apps to consider and more. In keeping with the "My Favorite Resources" theme ( last week I listed my favorite resources for talking about Twitter ) here are my go-to resources when people ask me about iPads in the Classroom.
A Principal's Reflections
JANUARY 6, 2011
'This is the million dollar question! Like most educators in the blogging world I see the inherit value in educational technology. Combined with sound pedagogical practices, the effective integration of technology has the ability to engage learners in a variety of ways. The other day I came across this article where interactive whiteboards (IWB''s) were touted as the most effective piece of classroom technology followed by individual netbooks for each student (these were being used predominately
A Principal's Reflections
NOVEMBER 20, 2011
'This past September I was fortunate enough to attend a professional development program on the Chromebook at the Google offices in New York City. At the conclusion of the workshop, I immediately began to think about the potential of this computing device in my school. However, something was missing. The missing piece to making a decision of this magnitude was the thoughts and advice from the most important constituency in schools, the students.
A Principal's Reflections
MAY 18, 2011
'The following is a guest post by Disha Dass and Jessica Milne, two New Milford High School students. They approached me with an idea and as a school we let them run with it. Nothing like this had ever been organized at NMHS. The end result of their unwavering commitment to make their peers aware of of an issue had a profound impact on the entire school community.
Speaker: Amanda Davis, Chief Experience Officer and Liam O'Malley, VP of Association Solutions
The "new normal" is now a little less new, a little more normal. Does that mean your current LMS strategy is in need of a refresh? Is your organization or association leaning into the always-evolving eLearning environment to ensure you have the tools and content to remain relevant through all this change? There are many complex decision-making processes within your learning & development strategy and LMS lifecycle management, including: Selection.
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